Blond:Ish: Wunderkammer

Here’s one of those not-so-little singles where there are more interesting things happening on the B-side than the A-side. That’s not to discourage the reader from checking out the track “Wunderkammer”, which the Kompakt label believed was strong enough to include on their latest TOTAL compilation. The light beats, spidery triads and minor chord atmosphere guarantee that it can stand on its own. But the Canadian/English electronic duo Blond:Ish stray from the concrete ideas of “WunderKammer” when you flip the single over. “Birds Eat Birds” has that tight-as-a-girdle endlessly looping dance beat, directly reflecting the “everything is connected to everything is… nature of the song’s title. A far-off sonar sample gently falls one tiny bit at a time. At one point the track almost stops completely only to will itself back into existence. “Stolen Romance” turns down the lights, and tempo, even further. This is where the glow sticks cry all their goo out in wonderfully depressing balladry with Audysea as a special guest. Wunderkammer is not an all-out winner, but it has an abundance of winning elements that could only mean that Blon:Ish can and will soon stumble upon something better.